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| Nicodemo Scarfo appears in Superior Court in Morristown in this 2010 file photo. |
TRENTON — The son of famed Philadelphia crime boss Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo and a dozen co-conspirators were indicted today for allegedly taking over a Texas-based financial company by threatening its board members and then siphoning money to themselves, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., 46, of Galloway and Salvatore Pelullo, 44, of Philadelphia, Pa. were arrested for allegedly leading the elaborate scheme, which began in April 2007, to take over the board of mortgage company FirstPlus Financial Group, according to indictments unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Camden.
“According to the indictment, the defendants gave new meaning to ‘corporate takeover’ by looting a publicly traded company to benefit their criminal enterprise,” U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said at a news conference in Camden.
Charges include racketeering, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other crimes. Scarfo’s father and Vittorio Amuso, the boss of the Lucchese crime family, were also named in the indictments but were not charged, authorities said. They are both serving life sentences for racketeering in an Atlanta prison.
Federal prosecutors said Scarfo and Pelullo ran a criminal enterprise that allowed them to seize the board of FirstPlus, a publicly-traded mortgage company, by threatening its members with violence and used various methods to steal the company’s money to enrich themselves and their associates, according to the indictments.
The enterprise allegedly stole $12 million from shareholders of the company to fund Scarfo and Pelullo’s lavish lifestyles, which included the purchase of an $850,000 yacht, a luxury home for Scarfo, a Bentley car for Pelullo, and thousands of dollars in jewelry for Scarfo’s wife, Lisa Murray-Scarfo, 32, who was also charged in the indictment.
The 11 other co-conspirators included several attorneys and an accountant, authorities said. Two men are still wanted for arrest, Fishman said. Scarfo is scheduled to appear before a judge at 2 p.m. today.
Related coverage:
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• More than 30 members of Lucchese crime family plead not guilty to N.J. racketeering, conspiracy
source:
nj.com
